Posted on 12/10/2003 5:30:24 PM PST by yonif
HAMPTON, Va. - (KRT) - Freshly cut trees have been a part of Christmas celebrations at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in Hampton for decades.
But this year, the 20-foot tall tree will have to be removed from the church's sanctuary, because it violates a ban against using fresh cut trees in areas without sprinklers.
The tree isn't up merely for decoration, said the Rev. L. Douglas Stowe, senior pastor of Gloria Dei. It is part of the church's religious heritage and a tool, Stowe said, to teach children about Jesus.
``We're going to have to take our Chrismon tree down,'' Stowe told two classes of preschoolers during a Christmas program Tuesday. ``And that's a big deal.''
Within the Lutheran faith, trees decorated with handmade religious monogram ornaments that depict the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, like the one at Gloria Dei, are called Chrismon trees. Chrismons started in 1957 at Ascension Lutheran Church in Danville. The word ``Chrismon'' is a blending of Christ and monograms.
Over the last 46 years, Chrismon trees have become a part of the Christmas season for Lutherans, Presbyterians, Methodists and other Christians across the nation.
But this year, Stowe has watched some ``struggle about how codes are enforced'' in Virginia.
Last Wednesday, the Virginia fire marshal ended a statewide cut Christmas tree ban that took effect in October following complaints from apartment and condo residents who would've been banned from displaying fresh-cut Christmas trees.
But the violation at Gloria Dei falls under a different section of the fire code that was established in 1975 said Hampton Fire Chief Robert Green.
``The code is not the same,'' Green said. ``The code we are referring to has to do with public assembly.'' Along with churches, the code requires sprinklers to be installed near natural cut trees in banquet halls, funeral parlors, libraries and most public places.
Yet so far this year, Green said, Hampton has cited only two churches for violations. Green would not name the other church cited.
Green did credit the outcry against the apartment tree ban with raising awareness among inspectors to find other violations. Green said his department first learned about the cut tree this year from a fire official whose daughter attends Gloria Dei Lutheran School.
Stowe said the church received a notice last Thursday that they had 48 hours to remove the Chrismon tree from the sanctuary. Prior to the notice, Stowe said, the church wasn't aware that it was violating a fire code.
Last Friday, Stowe said, their 48 hours were extended to 30 days.
Later, that number dropped to 10 days, a timetable Gloria Dei received in writing on Tuesday morning, right before the preschool Christmas program.
The difference between 30 days to 10 days is significant because it would have allowed the Chrismon tree at Gloria Dei to be displayed through the Christmas season. Though Stowe said he understands fire officials are only doing their jobs, ``There have been some mixed signals here.''
The length in which Gloria Dei needed to be in compliance ``was my discretion,'' Green said. ``You have to use what you would consider reasonable.''
Green said the department based its decision on the code with ``no bearing on what the tree was symbolic of.'' But for ministers at Gloria Dei, the fact that it is alive adds to its religious symbolism.
``If you look at Orthodox Jewish tradition, where many of us as Christians acknowledge our religious roots come from, you see that nothing artificial is used,'' said Rev. Edmund Freeborn III, a Presbyterian minister at Gloria Dei. ``You never find silk flowers in a synagogue. Now most Christians might not follow that with trees. But we do.''
In fact, churches are instructed to ``use the freshest flowers possible'' to decorate the sanctuary since the fading of flowers and plants is a reminder of one's human frailty in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's ``Altar Guide and Sacristy Handbook.''
The handbook also states that in reference to Christmas decorations, ``If there is sufficient room, a Christmas tree (never artificial) may be set up.''
Yet, Chrismon trees at other Lutheran churches in Hampton are and have mainly been artificial.
At Emmanuel Lutheran Church and School, the Chrismon tree will be decorated this Saturday as part of the church's hanging of the greens. While the church always tries to use fresh flowers, the Rev. Paul Napier, pastor of Emmanuel Lutheran, said the church's tree is artificial.
The tree at St. Paul's Lutheran Church has been artificial for years, ``because we have people here with allergies,'' said its pastor, the Rev. Christine Farrow.
St. Paul's also has, Farrow said, ``a retired fire marshal in the congregation.''
Yes.
"... YET the WTC, with 10's of thousands of employees, was allowed to be open for business with 'no' sprinkler system and no plan of evacuation in case of emergency."
The WTC's were sprinklered. High-rise code is much more restrictive than assembly code. Of course, it also depends of which code is being used by the "authority having jurisdiction" at the time the building is built.
The fire code is written in blood.
Anti-freedom would be telling the good people of Virginia that they have no freedom to set their own laws and standards.
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